(Note by Annemann: During the past year there have been several variations of an English effect produced, all of which have made good use of the black art principle. With the popularity of the tricks in mind I’m presenting here one which has lots to recommend it besides the small cost in making it up.)
To the many and varied production boxes at present before the magical fraternity, I have yet another to add. This one I believe will meet with the approval of all, as there are many points in its favor. The first is that it can be worked on a glass-topped table or a thin serving tray. Secondly, it can be examined by the audience if necessary, and thirdly, the whole affair can be made up at the cost of a dollar or so.
The effect is as with most of these boxes. It is first shown perfectly empty, and then a varied assortment of articles extracted from it. These are generally of a collapsible nature, such as handkerchiefs, flags, lanterns, etc. In the box I am about to describe, SOLID articles can be produced, even glasses of water, as well as a tremendous amount of collapsible goods.
Now for the apparatus. As seen by the audience it consists of two boxes, one made of glass and another smaller one made of tin, which is just a sliding fit for the glass box. The tin box has hinged flaps in its sides, as seen in Fig. 2, so that the hand can be passed completely through from all sides to prove it empty. The fake box shown in Fig. 3, which the audience do not see, is simply a cardboard box covered over with black velvet, but instead of having a lid, two flaps of velvet are left over from the ends, so that the top layer of the “production” which is placed in this box cannot be seen. Attached to the two ends of this box at the bottom will be seen two loops of black thread or wire, as shown in Fig. 3, the object of which will be seen later. Next, a glass-top table is required, or, failing this, an assistant with a thin tray (black). Having got the above pieces of apparatus, the glass box is on the center of the table. The tin box is now placed over the fake box (which should be suitably loaded), the two loops of wire or thread thus hanging out. These are gathered up to the top of the tin box, and serve as handles to lower the tin and fake into the glass box, the handles being left in an easy accessible position, as in Fig. 1.
To present the trick, the performer comes forward, and, standing directly behind the table with the box on it, lifts out the tin box and fake box together and places them momentarily behind the glass box. On second thought, he picks up the tin box and shows it empty by placing his hands through the openings. When picking the box up to do this, care must be taken to keep in a position directly behind the glass box unless a dark background is in evidence, otherwise the fake box can be seen. The magician’s black coat acts as a background in this case. Having shown the tin box empty, it is put down over the fake box behind the glass box again, while the performer proceeds to show the glass box perfectly empty.
This being done, all that remains to be done is to place the tin box and fake inside the glass box again, and proceed with the production by opening the two tin flaps on top of the box.
If it is desired to show the apparatus free of deception at the end of the production, this can easily be accomplished by making the fake box to open out flat and paste a flag or fancily designed silk inside it, so that at the last the flag or silk can be pulled out from behind it. Fig. 4 will serve to illustrate how the fake container is hidden on the table with the rest of the produced materials.
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